[Udayin:] "'Bodily witness, bodily witness,' it is said. To what extent is one described by the Blessed One as a bodily witness?" |
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[Ananda:] "There is the case, my friend, where a monk, withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful qualities, enters & remains in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. He remains touching with his body in whatever way there is an opening there [see AN 9.35]. It is to this extent that one is described in a sequential way by the Blessed One as a bodily witness. |
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Furthermore, there is the case where a monk, with the stilling of directed thought & evaluation, enters & remains in the second jhana: rapture & pleasure born of composure, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation. He remains touching with his body in whatever way there is an opening there. It is to this extent that one is described in a sequential way by the Blessed One as a bodily witness |
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Furthermore, there is the case where a monk, with the fading of rapture, remains in equanimity, mindful & alert, is physically sensitive to pleasure, and enters & remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, 'Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasurable abiding. He remains touching with his body in whatever way there is an opening there. It is to this extent that one is described in a sequential way by the Blessed One as a bodily witness |
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Furthermore, there is the case where a monk, with the abandoning of pleasure & stress — as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress — enters & remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither-pleasure-nor-pain. He remains touching with his body in whatever way there is an opening there. It is to this extent that one is described in a sequential way by the Blessed One as a bodily witness |
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Furthermore, there is the case where a monk, with the complete transcending of perceptions of [physical] form, with the disappearance of perceptions of resistance, and not heeding perceptions of diversity, thinking, 'Infinite space,' enters & remains in the dimension of the infinitude of space. He remains touching with his body in whatever way there is an opening there. It is to this extent that one is described in a sequential way by the Blessed One as a bodily witness |
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Furthermore, there is the case where a monk, with the complete transcending of the dimension of the infinitude of space, thinking, 'Infinite consciousness,' enters & remains in the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness. He remains touching with his body in whatever way there is an opening there. It is to this extent that one is described in a sequential way by the Blessed One as a bodily witness |
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Furthermore, there is the case where a monk, with the complete transcending of the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, thinking, 'There is nothing,' enters & remains in the dimension of nothingness. He remains touching with his body in whatever way there is an opening there. It is to this extent that one is described in a sequential way by the Blessed One as a bodily witness |
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Furthermore, there is the case where a monk, with the complete transcending of the dimension of nothingness, enters & remains in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. He remains touching with his body in whatever way there is an opening there. It is to this extent that one is described in a sequential way by the Blessed One as a bodily witness |
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Furthermore, with the complete transcending of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, he enters & remains in the cessation of perception & feeling. And as he sees with discernment, the mental fermentations go to their total end. He remains touching with his body in whatever way there is an opening there. It is to this extent that one is described in a non-sequential way by the Blessed One as a bodily witness. |
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See also: AN 9.44; AN 9.45. |
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